MISTAKEN RUTHLESS TYCOON FOR LOVER

New York City, late autumn, 5:30 PM.

The sun had long been swallowed by thick clouds, leaving only a few pale rays struggling to break through the gray sky.

Emily had been slumped over her desk for hours, cold sweat forming in beads on her forehead.

The sharp trill of her phone rang out clearly amidst the mechanical clatter of keyboards, yanking her back from a fog of dizziness.

"Hello, is this Emily from The New York Times?"

Lying face-down on the desk, Emily forced herself upright and responded, trying to sound alert. "Speaking. Who is this, please?"

"I'm Lens, assistant to the president of Universe Bank. About a month ago, your magazine scheduled an interview with President Aiden Campbell for tomorrow. Do you remember?"

Emily snapped to full awareness, instinctively straightening her posture.

Of course, she remembered.

The name Aiden had been on everyone's lips lately.

At first, he made waves in the industry simply for being the son of Bill, the founder of Universe Group, and for suddenly appearing on the financial scene.

After returning from his studies in Europe, Aiden took over Universe Bank, the group's privately-owned commercial bank.

At the time, insiders weren't optimistic-it looked like Bill had tossed his half-defunct company to his son to let him "play CEO" for fun. Critics even mocked the move in columns that were normally far more serious.

But Aiden proved them wrong. He swiftly tackled the bank's over-reliance on deposit-lending operations and its increasing risk exposure. He focused on risk management, executed reforms decisively, and turned things around.

At just 27, Aiden became the talk of the entire financial world. Awards flooded in, and media outlets scrambled to secure interviews. But despite his fame, actual interviews with him were rare. Even the most mainstream outlets struggled to get even a few quotes.

This interview had taken months of effort and strings pulled by the editor-in-chief to arrange.

When the assignment was handed to Emily, the whole newsroom looked on in envy.

The name Aiden alone guaranteed readership-and the reporter who got to interview him would be in the spotlight too.

Now, however, this call had Emily's stomach in knots. She asked carefully, "Is there a change in schedule?"

"Yes," Lens said. "The interview scheduled for 9 AM tomorrow has to be postponed. President Campbell has a conflict due to other work commitments."

Emily pressed, "Will he be available in the next few days?"

"Unlikely," Lens replied. "If it's possible on your end, we'd like to push the interview to a week later."

That wouldn't work.

In financial journalism, timing was everything. A week's delay would mean the article might not make it to print in time-and any exclusive angles could already be stale.

"That's really not ideal," Emily said quickly. "Would there be any way to squeeze in a short interview? Even by phone?"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Lens replied. "I can't disclose the exact schedule, but the earliest availability is next week."

Emily gritted her teeth. "What about tonight? Just three hours-no, two? One hour?"

Before Lens could answer, she jumped in again, desperation leaking into her voice. "Even just one hour. Please, I've been preparing for this interview for a month."

Lens hesitated, then said in a lowered voice, "President Campbell is attending an important event tonight. But-maybe-he could spare a moment during it. No promises though."

"I'll wait," Emily blurted out. "Just give me the address. I'll be there."

Before hanging up, Lens warned her, "Miss Emily, I can arrange a waiting area, but I can't guarantee you'll see President Campbell. It's entirely possible this will be a wasted trip."

-

The call ended with a few mechanical beeps echoing in Emily's ears. She collapsed back onto the desk, nerves slowly settling-only to be replaced by a hollow sense of disappointment.

An Aiden interview should've been a moment of triumph.

But her heightened emotional sensitivity-courtesy of her period-was making the letdown hit even harder. Her mood was terrible. Even a little bitter.

Today was her boyfriend Carlos's birthday.

Their first birthday celebration together as a couple.

Carlos had made dinner reservations and bought movie tickets, all set for a cozy evening. But now Emily wouldn't be there. Instead, she'd be dragging her exhausted, cramping body to an event she might not even get into.

She turned her face to the side, took a few deep breaths, and shut down her computer.

Across from her, Cathy looked up from her own work. "What's going on?"

Emily stayed still a moment, bracing against a wave of pain. Then she said, "The interview's been moved up. I have to go tonight."

"What?" Cathy now noticed how pale Emily looked. Her normally lively expression had dulled, her skin ghostly white. "Are you okay?"

"Doesn't matter. I have to be," Emily muttered, walking over to the printer and gathering a stack of documents. She stood there, staring blankly at the floor.

The printer hummed quietly, neatly stacking the pages in front of her.

Someone's ringtone went off nearby. Emily blinked and slowly pulled out her own phone.

She was about to call Carlos to explain, but just then, he beat her to it.

"Babe, I'm coming to pick you up. What time do you get off?"

Leaning against the printer, Emily drew slow circles on the machine with her finger. "I'm really sorry. I have a last-minute interview. It might take two hours. I don't think I can make dinner."

She hesitated, then added, "I'm also not feeling great, so I might not be up for the movie either."

Carlos sighed on the other end. "Okay. I'll just hang with a friend or something."

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

-

Cathy waited for Emily to hang up, twirling her pen. "You ditched your boyfriend?"

"What else was I supposed to do?" Emily said, hauling her documents over to the binder. "Ditch Aiden?"

"Poor guy. First birthday with you and he loses out to a stranger."

"Sounds like I'm going to Aiden's birthday instead," Emily muttered.

"I still can't believe your boyfriend's okay with this," Cathy said.

"What's there to be mad about?" Emily replied, after a pause. "He didn't complain. Said he understood."

Cathy snorted. "Your guy is way too reasonable. Mine's super clingy. If I bailed on him-reason or no-he'd be mad."

Emily spaced out a little.

A sharp "click" and a jab of pain in her finger snapped her back. She yanked her hand away from the stapler just in time.

But the sting lingered-and seemed to crawl deeper.

She stood silently for a few seconds, then texted Carlos:

Emily,Are you upset?

Carlos,?

Carlos,Nope! I get it. Work comes first. We have many birthdays ahead.

Carlos,Oh, and you said you weren't feeling well. Are you sick?

Emily exhaled.

Maybe she was just being overly sensitive.

Emily,Nothing serious. Just period cramps TAT